I have also struggled with the naming of my own blade, and I know that there are many who simply will not name their equipment for they see it but an extension of themselves. A tool, simply put. I myself was raised to believe much the same as my family (both sides) consider themselves to be the true Weapons of Nier, and that the blade is merely a means to an end. However, as I begun travelling the world, I found myself growing quite attached to my blades, especially after gaining access to an Auxunite blade of exceptional quality during my time in the Crusade. This blade, which I had named "Ateş markası" after what I understand to be the Auxunite word for "Fire brand", served me well, but it was not until I commissioned my first blade within the First City that I truly was tested in my naming.

Until that point, all my blades were found or given. While they may have their own personality, they were not truly 'mine'. This one was. It was because of that, after much meditation and prayers to the Gods that I came up with the name that best serves me, and it: Justice.

I know, how unimaginative for a follower of Our Lord Justicar, and I was truly tempted to name it something over the top. However, this simple word is ultimately the most important thing to me, and it seemed wrong to name my blade anything else. I have since used it as the gavel of Nier to bring forth Justice on the impious and criminal, as well as to protect Their Children from harm.

Far be it for me to make statements of command over such an august personage as yourself, but I do suggest that you seek that which is the most important to you, and through that your blade will find an identity. What drives you? What is that which you value most? Do you even believe this blade to be that important to you and even require a name? These are questions only you may answer.

We have not had the pleasure of meeting. But I have heard of your "Little Embassy" in the First City.

Normally I would suggest most men name their swords "Folly" or "Mischief" for all the trouble they cause. In a better world I would delegate any unfortunate violence completely to the Legions. My study of history suggests it's the people who weild armies instead of swords who really get things done. And generally live safer and happier lives. Well, unless assassins get them....

Still, as you sometimes say, it doesn't take a magical third eye to see trouble on the horizon. And you probably don't have an army. So a good sword will probably serve you well.

Perhaps you are meant to be part of the great narrative instead of the man who just summarizes and writes it up after everything has happened. If that is true then you might name your sword "Memoir." You have married into the Golden Court have you not? I fear you will certainly be using sharp objects to write up a corner of our coming history.

I hope everything ends well for you.

-A Concerned Patrician

_________________May we all awaken our inner third eye.May we all understand, know, and act in accord with our highest ideals.In the end we must all return to our beginnings.

"My weapons go unnamed. This is an intentional oversight of a kind because they are the tools I use in Belisarda's service and that service itself should be the basis of any legend. Also none of them have a heritage of even the tenth part of Kellisar's forging.

"That said, 'brevity is the soul wit', right? I suggest Veritas. Or perhaps to meet Larissa head-on: 'Bitter Truth. Tragedy stalks you in particular even as it opens it's arms to us all.

"Barring that consider what your highest virtue is and work from there. My mentor met once an unusual young woman wielding a long blade she'd titled Hope's Edge. As the young woman was formerly one of the Tainted, and with the tale taken at face worth, the connection's direct enough."

"Of course since you will be narrating your legacy you would be a poor author to select a name that's clumsy in prose.

"Your friend, mistress of the dramatically obvious, and above all servant of Belisarda,

Vaize.

"PS: Kio. I was thinking of Kio. Their blades have names that go on and on and on. Don't do that. Like other sorts of very personal things measured in length the more the bearer has to talk them up the greater the impending disappointment and likely humiliation. I like Kio clothing and Kio cooking more.

Last edited by ZCaslar on Tue Jul 04, 2017 6:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

I urge you to give great consideration to the blade's nature before coining the name. A blade - especially one enchanted with runes or made for a great hero - will exist long after those whom wielded it are gone. To borrow a thought from a Cadican bard I once knew, upon forging an enchanted blade one is also forging the beginning of a legend - your tale shall be but the beginning of the blade's journey, and that journey shall likely stretch on far after you are gone. It may become a family heirloom, or it may become lost to the ages until some unknown hand centuries hence finds it and knows only its name read from the blade's inscription - all other knowledge of its deeds and forging lost.

That is why its name must speak of its character, the purpose for which it was forged, and its origins.

My blade, Ewiger Sturmzorn - The Eternal Storm's Wrath - is a good example of this. It was originally named simply Sturmzorn or Storm's Wrath when I forged it early in my adventuring career before the passage of time dulled my own ability to smith. I forged it whilst my heart was heavy with the thought of avenging the deaths of my family at the hands of the Swords of Nier, defending all people from the oppression of Tyrants, and visiting Hurrian's Wrath upon all whom commit evil. I crafted it from Ignium, a metal holy to Nier, and enchanted it with Hurrian’s temperance that it represented a union of the two brothers of battle. I inscribed upon the blade the words “Deliver me from battle, and if blood be on my hands let an innocent be saved by the spilling”

The purpose of Sturmzorn was then to help me focus my anger and Wrath in the wake of my loss. Its name would later become even more appropriate when I was affected by The Storm, the death of the Reluctance of Hurrian, and the release of Hurrian's Wrath upon Onara. Sturmzorn accompanied me on every adventure, through every battle, and into every den of villainy throughout my long career until the eve of the final battle of the Coryani Civil War. By then I had invested much of my own essence into the blade's enchantments and runes, but Master Elebac of Solanos Mor looked upon Sturmzorn and found it wanting. He said to me that an eternal protector of the people deserved a better blade to face the final battle with a mad Valinor, but that he did not wish to dishonor Sturmzorn by suggesting I replace it.

With my blessing, Elebac reforged Sturmzorn into a true masterpiece. He renamed it Ewiger Sturmzorn when he completed his labors - to honor that the only wielder it had ever known had been blessed by the Lord of Tombs in order to prosecute her duties beyond her mortal years. It was magnificent, bound to me and invested with a part of my own Intellect from which to draw its power.

I only wielded it in a single battle after its reforging... the final battle of Grand Coryan. There, Ewiger Sturmzorn drew the blood of Manetas, the Pride of Illiir, and I must credit my survival of that confrontation as much to the blade as my own faith or skill at arms. Once Manetas was bound away forever and the war had ended, I found myself without purpose for a time. I dared not draw Ewiger Sturmzorn again until I felt I was again doing the Pantheon's will rather than merely the work of man, so I entrusted the blade to those whom will keep it safely awaiting my return - I shall not write whom or where for obvious reasons.

Writing this, I begin to think perhaps I should return for it one day soon... the strands of prophecy and fate are again pulling taught across Onara as they've done once before in my existence. I think perhaps I shall have need of that masterful blade again before the coming days are through.

The point is, my dear friend, and I apologize for waxing so verbose in getting there, that I had no idea the import of the part Sturmzorn would play in events larger than myself when I first named it in 1026ic. I was a young girl, freshly released into the world from the seminary temple of Hurrian in Moratavia. I thought that I would count myself lucky if I amounted to much more than properly earning my hereditary title of Knight-Protector of Ritterfeld. I could just as easily have been flippant in naming my blade - or worse, not named it at all. How could I have possibly known then that the blade I was naming would one day draw the blood of a mad Valinor or would be all that stood between myself and ultimate failure with so many lives in the balance? Have no doubts, my gentle friend, I am certain that had it not been for Ewiger Sturmzorn I would have fallen and Manetas would have reached the women behind me to interrupt their chants of binding. Had I not named the blade to purpose, the rational mind would argue that it would have been just as worthy of the task to which it was put... but the world and the gods are not always rational. What if it had been a poorly named blade, and Master Elebac had simply replaced it - seeing no need to reforge something I had not named well... and what if that replacement had not been up to the task? Names, my friend, have a power all their own - especially when those names are forever entwined with runes and magic.

Fortunately for me - and perhaps for us all - my younger self was advised by a wise friend that names have power and that every blade must be named to purpose.

I hope that you accept the same advice. We cannot know now what you will face in the years to come. Your story may mirror mine, or it may be vastly different. However, should you find yourself facing an otherworldly power in a battle of grave consequence, I pray to the Pantheon that you shall have more than a mere tool at your side for a blade.

To that end, for your consideration I submit the following name for your blade:Invitus Lepor - The Reluctant WitThe purpose of this name is to honor that the blade was crafted for you, a scholarly warrior whose wit is perhaps his greatest weapon, and that it was forged by a smith whose people are dedicated to the Reluctant Warrior, Hurrian - Blessed Be His Name. If you accept this name, it shall represent that violence is the last resort of a man dedicated to peace, knowledge, and wit above the ways of War.

If that name is too long for you, then perhaps simply Lepor, meaning "Wit"

May Hurrian shield you and may the Pantheon offer their blessings in the days ahead, Blessed Be.

I write to you in the aftermath of the assault on Seremas by gar armies. Yes. I know...I said gar armies.

If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I’d be tempted to dismiss my own report of disciplined gar forces. In the “Known Lands” the gar live on the fringes of civilization or in the wilds. We know them for half feral tribal creatures. “Our” gar live in extreme material poverty. Some tribes even lack stone tools. That was not what attacked Seremas. Though biologically “gar,” they were otherwise completely different from their northern kin. These gar forged metal arms of armor of high quality based on kit designs, operated in complex formations utilizing specialized kinds of troops, had command of the arcanum, and controlled both powerful war beasts and gigantic troll slaves.

Still, for all that, I report to you that Seremas survived.

When combat started it wasn’t clear how bad things were. On an otherwise normal day, just after lunch, undead started to boil out of the harbor. That was bad, but not necessarily a prelude to war for control of the city. Still, people ran around screaming some version of, “What in Sarish’s Hells is going on?!?”

Well. That might just have been me.

I am told such attacks by undead used to be a regular feature of the city. Especially on nights when Viridis was obscured. But in my lifetime the Bay has been quiet. The undead forces raised by the kurenthe curse had been pacified by the combined power of Calcestus (yes that Calcestus) and Melirios (yes that Melirios). I would only understand later that I was looking at the opening gambit unleashed by Gar shamans.

These days I always have Acuity belted on, but I had left my armor and most of my pistols in a locked chest. … safely back in my room. So like many others I was relatively unprepared. Most civilians beat a hasty retreat. But even with the resistance of the guard and armed “adventures,” we were hard pressed to eliminate undead. This was in large part because the undead only wanted only to spread out and “feed.” Despite our best efforts I estimate that close to two hundred civilians fell. That was bad, but it could have been much worse.

Gar infiltrators used the undead as a distraction to enter the foreign quarter. This created even more confusion. But between the two threats a retreat was in order. One possibility was back through the foreign quarter and towards the gates of the eloran section of the city. Though somewhat damaged in the Night of Screams, its walls were still 30 feet high and 6 feet thick. The other option was escaping toward the Sea Tower that guarded the harbor.

The scrum of defenders I had attached myself to were closer to the Sea Tower. So that is where we set off for, gathering civilians as we went. The Gar showed advanced tactics using bolas to try and immobilize or separate civilians for capture. That scared me a little and drove home that we were not under attack from some barely organized mob or horde. Seremas faced a well conceived and executed attack. Fortunately, in addition to my own talents there were several powerful magi and the gar were largely foiled by conjured walls and captivating melodies.

We made it in relatively good order to the Sea Tower, shepherding thirty to forty civilians. And we weren’t alone. Eight to ten similar groups staggered in. Mostly in good shape. We packed the Sea Tower full to bursting.

The eloran guards there tried to take stock, but I’m sorry to say they weren’t helped by the many ideas being shouted about. I heard voices in at least four languages - from various warriors, priests and magi - about how and where we could counter attack. Disorganized as we were in that moment, we couldn’t agree on any one plan and the opportunity to seize the initiative slipped past us.

Instead a third wave of attackers came by air. Archers on great fire drakes mostly attacked the outer wall. And “man-bats” mostly attacked us at the Sea Tower. While civilians stayed inside we defended the exterior. I don’t think anyone was flung off the Sea Tower to their deaths. But it wasn’t for lack of trying by the man-bats. With the power of psionics at my beck and call, I can heal myself of almost any wound that isn’t immediately fatal. But a 150 foot fall might do for me. I think there was an unspoken agreement among all of us guarding the outside of the Tower to focus our fire on anything that successfully grabbed a defenders. None the less there were several close calls. I know I almost went over once, but was saved by a Stormlord “riding the lightning.”

It was hard fighting on the walls as well. Multiple drakes staffed the defenders with their fiery breath, while howdah mounted archers targeted spell casters. I later learned that Kae’muros was severely injured fighting the drakes. Given his age and power I find this surprising so I suspect he was not fully recovered from the Night of Screams.

When I learned of Kae’muros being wounded I was left feeling deeply ambivalent. As Seremas’ top soldier and general it should come as no surprise that he is deeply infamous in Altheria. And you know, its just hard for me to get emotionally behind someone whose most famous quote is, “Humans are either at your throat or at your feet.” Against that it has to be said that Kae’muros helped defend my birth city of Semar against no less a foe than Magros of the Malfelen Host. And except perhaps for the walls, he was without a doubt the most potent defense to be found in Seremas.

That knowledge came later.

Immediately we had to deal with a second attack on the walls. Several sections had been sufficiently damaged by the fire drakes that they were in danger of being breached. And the Gar had huge war beasts to force an opening. I am hard pressed to describe the shaggy monstrosities they sent. They had legs like tree trunks, a pair of huge curving tusks and a kind of trunk or tentacle on the front of their heads. A few brave souls ran out to try and meet them head on. And except for BEAST they got smashed flat for their bravery.

I was a little too busy to get a really accurate count, but I estimate that the Gar sent around 30 of these horrors in total.

If unopposed they breached weakened sections of walls in as little as 10 to 20 seconds. And they had howdahs filled with gar troops. And they were further supported from behind by gar slingers. I hate attackers that know what they're doing! My section held but only because a pair of Sarishians bogged down the first behemoth with bound infernals that "died" to buy us time while we essentially shot it to death. Then in a crazy maneuver an Ansharan Painbearer absorbed and redirected a ridiculous amount of physical punishment, that left him and a second behemoth half dead on the ground.

We had time to breathe and heal after mopping that up. Most sections of the wall held, though I heard that at least one of the things broke to the north of me and rampaged through a warehouse district. Not sure which troops drew the short straws to mop that up. BEAST would have been a good choice, but rumors flew around that they took off into the wilds after that fight. Its not currently clear to me if they conducted some kind of guerrilla operation, or if they just bugged out leaving Seremas to its fate.

Night fell. We should have felt content given that we had weathered their surprise attacks. Except there was this orange glow on the horizon. The Gar had summoned a lot of elementals to burn the mango groves and forests that surrounded the city. That was going to be a problem the next day. And I first learned that Kae’muros was badly wounded. Thus, like many others, I went to sleep troubled. When I woke just before dawn of the next day, things were much worse.

Kae’muros, Marshal of Seremas, had died in the night.

I will return to complete my report through the second day of battle. Until then I remain your obedient scribe,

Tukufu, Ambassador of Altheria

_________________Eric Gorman

AKA Ambassador Tukufu, man of letters, tomb raider and Master Sword Sage. . . and Sir Szymon val'Holryn, Order of the PhoenixFormerly Sir Jaeger val'Holryn. Weilder of the Holy Avenger: Thonanos. Gave his soul to help free King Noen

I return to finish my report on the assault on Seremas by gar armies. As I have previously written, the Gar attacked without warning using newly raised undead to screen their initial infiltration. Then war beasts attacked the walls. Fire drakes from the air. Gigantic tusked creatures on the ground.

Despite sophisticated tactics, the gar had so far failed to make meaningful breaches in the city’s defenses. Still, after the first day of fighting, we were far from celebrating. With only about 7,000 Seremasi troops defending the walls plus a core of hardened “adventurers” we were badly outnumbered. If the walls were over run I doubted we could hold the city. Worse, Kae’muros had perished in the fighting. For good or ill, his soul was sent back to the Ourumar. As an elder elorii he had been all but unstoppable on the battlefield.

We spent a sober night wondering what was next. One didn’t need a magical third eye to see that the morning was going to bring renewed conflict. So we rested fitfully.

Having seen my share of battlefields, I made a point to get up before dawn. I didn’t want to get caught unawares by the wrong kind of surprise. Some veterans will tell you they hate ALL surprises. I am somewhat more sanguine. From the von Faerdlau Brothers to the holy champions summoned by Leola, I have occasionally enjoyed undeserved good fortune on the field of battle. I even survived poking Uhxbractit twice with my sword. Still only a fool counts on such things.

I awoke to three snippets of news.

The first thing I learned was that BEAST had gone missing in the fighting. If they had “just” decided “they knew best” and were conducting some kind of guerrilla war beyond the wall, then maybe that was fine. On the other hand, if they had decided they didn’t care if the elorii of Seremas lived or died, then they could have deserted and just slipped away. I didn’t know, but the thought was depressing. If we were at the point where hardened warriors were deserting, then the cause was lost.

The second piece of news was the more important. To my great surprise a representative of “other” Gar tribes had appeared. He brought the defenders of Seremas a warning that there would be an elaborate ruse. False siege engines would be deployed, he claimed, while the real danger would be gigantic troll slingers heaving 10 foot wide slabs of stone over 600 feet through the air. An interesting assertion.

He wanted an audience with Kae’murous and I wonder what the thought when we told him that the famous general was dead.

That brought me to the third and final piece of news. What remained of the the Seremasi leadership were holding a private war counsel; they were electing or appointing a new field marshal.

How I would dearly have loved to have been a fly on the wall in their counsel room! Was it contentious? Serene? What qualities did they seek? I have no idea. I do know they didn’t waste time. Not too long after the strange gar envoy arrived, the elorii emerged to announce that they had settled on a new Marshal to defend Seremas.

They picked Beroelaris.

Do you know of him gentle reader? For want of a better word, he is an adventurer. I know him slightly but can hardly claim a deep acquaintance. He is at least as stand offish around val as I am around the Seremasi.

Events picked up speed quickly. Beroelaris decided to take the gar envoy at his word and ordered an immediate attack on the trolls as dawn broke. I … was not sure of the envoys honesty or accuracy. Given the complex tactics we had seen from them so far, this seemed like the kind of trick a sophisticated foe might use to lure us off the walls. I looked for some really tall elorii to veto the idea, or otherwise give subtle instructions to Beroelaris. But I didn’t see any. It looked like Beroelaris was really running the show. And the Seremasi army snapped to attention and prepared for our sally.

To my surprise the envoy told us the truth. The trolls, monstrous being 16 feet tall, did indeed sling gigantic slabs of stone that had been stock piled. Our new general made the right call.

The gar army was slow to respond. I think we did actually catch them off guard. We hewed at trolls as the main army dithered. But let me tell you. These trolls took a lot of hewing. And hewing. And hewing. They began to topple in ones and twos, but despite having the right idea we just weren’t numerous enough to kill them all. Clouds of dust eventually warned us of the Gar’s counter attack. We turned and fell back toward the city.

What a nightmarish march! I heard a few groups made it back in good order, but the Gar sent cavalry after us on some kind of running monster-birds. They sort of reminded me of the sc’math that ss’ressen ride. But with more feathers. And the things were faster than most horses. Which was mostly irrelevant to your correspondent, because I was on foot. As an added pleasure, while running and fighting for my life, I got to watch gigantic slabs of stone arc overhead to smash into the walls of the place I was running towards for “safety.”

I admit, my morale might have been low at that point…

_________________Eric Gorman

AKA Ambassador Tukufu, man of letters, tomb raider and Master Sword Sage. . . and Sir Szymon val'Holryn, Order of the PhoenixFormerly Sir Jaeger val'Holryn. Weilder of the Holy Avenger: Thonanos. Gave his soul to help free King Noen

…Things did not get better even after surviving that march. The rest of the day was spent loosing the walls and fighting in the streets. We were pushed back block after block. I give Beroelaris credit for keeping any kind of front together. We had too few troops and were constantly engaged. Of all the terrain I’ve fought battles in, I hate fighting in cities the most.

Exhaustion lent a surreal atmosphere to the fighting. Did I mention that the gar officers were armed with Kio swords? In my mind it was hard to reconcile feral tribalism with the martial prowess and kio equipment wielded by the soldiers of Maalioch. I doubted my senses. But as i was falling back to somewhere (where I’d just end up falling back from again) I killed one of the gar officers in a narrow alleyway. I picked up his blade. While I’m no weapon smith, I know what a kio sword looks like if I’m holding it in my hand. It didn’t make sense?

On a larger scale things were bad. I thought our only hopes for victory were either to decapitate the leadership or bleed the Gar army to death. It didn’t take a magical third eye to see that both options were problematic. In the odd moments of rest, I wondered about surviving the Crusade and the failed coup in the First City only to die in Seremas. Defending the very elorii who had gone to war with Altheria and killed my parents. Crazy.

The Gar forces relentlessly us pushed towards the reconsecrated Temple of Belisarda.

As we began rallying for a last stand there was an unexpected pause in the fighting. The Gar command came forward to treat with the Seremasi leadership. I even dared to hope that they might offer reasonable terms of surrender…but the Gar generals instead demanded the Ouremar.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who blinked.

Turn over the Ouremar? Was that even possible? One might as well demand that the Emperor of Coryan turn over the Cauldron. My day had gotten even weirder.

None the less these gar, in their Kio finery, said if the Ouremar was turned over, then they would let everyone who laid down their weapons depart in peace. I muttered a curse under my breath. So much for an honorable surrender, the world had gone mad. A couple of hundred yards away General Beroelaris kept his composure. In the face of madness and said with dignity, “What you ask for is not ours to give.”

Right. So I said a last prayer to Altheres.

If I was the Gar general, that’s where I would have ordered my troops to wipe everyone out. But the generals of Maalioch convulsed and collapsed. Thick clouds of black smoke poured out of them and formed into the outlines of tall graceful figures. “You must give it to us!” they said. I was then treated to five or ten minutes of rants and demands from creatures I came to learn were Kio Wraithlords.

If you’ve never heard of the term “Kio Wraithlord” before, I do not fault you. And honestly, after two days of combat I was almost too tired to be curious. From what I have been able to gather, it appears that the Wraith Lords are corrupted High Kio. Despite the fact that they were essentially incorporeal and capable of possessing other beings like shades and demons, I do not believe that they are truly spirits of the dead. Some priests after the battle swore they could neither be rebuked nor hedged with wards against the unnatural.

Whatever form of strange monstrosity the Kio Wraithlords actually are, their hunger to be reborn physically led them to a terrible mistake. Miraculously they gave us an opportunity to decapitate the leadership! So we attacked!

The final confrontation was the ugly desperate affair you’d expect it to be. Half of the Wraithlords present were potent eldritch sorcerers. And they were skilled enough to wield spell matrixes, so they each had a moment where they unleashed two spells at once. Ouch! And they were High Kio. Sort of. So of course all of them were grandmaster level swordsmen. They even managed to possess Beroelaris briefly, though thankfully it didn’t stick. Others were not so fortunate. At least one Ansharan gnome was more or less permanently turned against us.

In all this chaos I heard a story from an elorii that the Warlord Ig launched an attack on the baggage train. I’m not sure I believe that. He would have to be 80 years old. Do Gar even live that long? But it is true that the army attacking us was in disarray. When we succeeded in killing their generals, through superior numbers, they panicked. As badly hurt as we were, we managed to drive them back out of the city.

In a more perfect world we would have hunted them down while they were broken and finished them. But even with magical healing, there is only so much punishment a mortal frame can take in a brief span. We were too exhausted to do much more than make sure they didn’t regroup. I was content just to have survived.

I record here at least the most salient elements of the aftermath, despite my relatively swift departure to return home.

Almost all of the Kio weaponry and armor was collected. I grudgingly gave up my trophy sword. I am told the Seremasi leadership has plans to sell them to Whon and Llylifell. And use the proceeds to help fund the ongoing efforts to rebuild. I can prove of that. A grateful city declared us friends of the elorii and offered defenders rich rewards. I appreciated the recognition. Beroelaris earned the the title “the Shield of Seremas,” something I believe he will carry forward permanently much as legendary Salos is known as “the Savior.” Given his snarky reputation one might have expected him to become unsufferable. Instead he seems to have been humbled by it. I am unlikely to ever be completely comfortable around the Seremasi, but I’d fight under his command again for a just cause.

Less than a week after the fighting I was on a fast ship bound for Plexus.

Thus concludes my accounting of the attack on Seremas.

I remain your obedient scribe,

Tukufu, Ambassador of Altheria

_________________Eric Gorman

AKA Ambassador Tukufu, man of letters, tomb raider and Master Sword Sage. . . and Sir Szymon val'Holryn, Order of the PhoenixFormerly Sir Jaeger val'Holryn. Weilder of the Holy Avenger: Thonanos. Gave his soul to help free King Noen

_________________Vaize the Flamesong; disciple of Anaphylaxia, servant of Belisarda.D'serrat Val'Mordane; Knight Errant and Veteran of the Fifth and Sixth Crusades of Light.Denevir the Gladiator; aka the Red Widow, the Dread Gorehorn, the Sicarite Seven Slayer!

You are welcome Vaize. Maybe you can return the favor sometime and defend Altheria.

-T

_________________Eric Gorman

AKA Ambassador Tukufu, man of letters, tomb raider and Master Sword Sage. . . and Sir Szymon val'Holryn, Order of the PhoenixFormerly Sir Jaeger val'Holryn. Weilder of the Holy Avenger: Thonanos. Gave his soul to help free King Noen

Though I am out of the First City traveling with my wife Belinay, I take time to put ink on paper. I bring you a report concerning Calemnon’s first Court. I hesitate to call it the Imperator’s First Court, as Calemnon would wish, as it remains to be seen whether or not the world accepts his claims. Or if the great general has the wherewithal to enforce his desires upon any state or states that might contest his aspirations.

For my part, I never saw him during the proceedings at all. He rarely emerges from the Great Cathedral. He has all but taken it over. And though a variety of matters great and small were decided, I know of no one who can attest to his attendance. Which I find strange. I am sure I am not the only one who wonders what he is up to in there.

His Master of Horse, and second in command, Marcus Lepidus was there in his place. Marcus remains as congenial a Tribune as you could wish. Though I find it strange that he is clean shaven these days. The first time I met him, with some of you in a cave waiting out the Black Rain, he had prodigious whiskers..

I report to you sixteen salient events that took place:

(1)Tribune Marcus Lepidus hired robust heroes to seek out remnants of the Khitani slaughter priests of Nier. Though their effectiveness as a military force is broken it remain unclear if they have all been killed or captured.(2)Altheria’s monopoly on the Silk Trade from Khitan appears to have been broken by House Symesa. House Symesa has been granted a concession to carry silk to Milandir. Although this is speculation on my part I assume that relations between the val’Abebi and the ul’Wei are unsettled by this development.(3)The Azure Way also seems to be expanding into mercantile areas having secured several trade deals and contracts.(4)Surprising no one, the Blood Guard went on a bender and binged on alcohol for the better part of 48 hours. In “completely” unrelated news, there were several large scale bar room brawls during Calemnon’s Court and several people were left dead.(5)The Ymandrake Ambassador sought an audience with Calemnon but failed to secure a meeting with him. (6)The Emerald Society lost several operatives who were studying strange pillars in the Unclean Area. They were killed and eaten by several cyclopses that your author believes are connected to the so called Empress Sarkana.(7)The Damage to the Coryani Arena has finally been repaired. 4 captured cyclopses from the Unclean Area will be the highlight of the fighting in the grand reopening…(8)A small group of Ymandrakes and Ossarions were all found dead together. The Blue Cloaks are investigating…(9)Giant Bees! The elorii known as the Apothecary hired brave souls to skirt around to the far side of the city and collect honey from the giant bees that live there. Many beneficial qualities are attributed to this honey, but it remains hard to procure since the dog sized bees are perfectly capable of killing intruders. Unusually, no casualties were reported; though Kermina of Savona, in rare state off visible drunkeness later claimed all the honey was burned.(10) The official word is there seems to have been some kind of violent “misunderstanding” on Duoppol’s estates. Unofficially one hears “a mob” clashed with his guards and a large fire ensued. Some of Duoppol’s rivals have made jokes about urban renewal. But I bet they do it quietly and not to his face.(11) The Venomous Scale Ss’ressen of Ssethregore tried to set up some kind of sanctuary in the First City. B.E.A.S.T. and other adventurers are said to have uncovered their plan … and purged them.(12)An entourage of elorii sought to set up some kind of sanctuary in the First City. Despite being uncovered as Malfelen infiltrators they succeeded despite some opposition. Initial unconfirmed reports put this Sanctuary beyond the Barricade in the Unclean Area. It is said to be heavily defended with potent magical wards.(13) An Ossarion Sphinx was spotted overhead by several different groups. The Blue Cloaks mobilized to deal with the threat. Armed patrols were also hired by Suetonius Varro to kill it. However a different group of armed individuals organized by Kermina of Savona, encountered it first. They discovered that the Sphinx claimed no malice toward the residents of the First City. Further it claimed friendship with Tolaren of the Encali. This group guided the Sphinx back to Tolaren’s Estate. Presumably they thought it was nice that dwarf has one friend. Some in the city remain unhappy that the sphinx lives amongst them, albeit out of sight.(14) Visibly drunk and raving, Kermina of Savona ranted at length to anyone who would listen that a group of adventures, including your author, sabotaged her chances marry a rich husband. Your author remains baffled.(15) Several groups of adventurers, heroes, and mercenaries were dispatched to the Unclean Area by Marcus Lepidus. They succeeded in driving out the Cadaver Hounds from the four Gates of Anshar and cleaning the debris from the site. Immediately upon the debris being removed, the Gates Activated and a total of 8 members of the Legion of Grim Lamentation stepped through and set up as guards. How they knew to be there is an interesting question. If you can reach them in the Unclean Area, the Gates of the First City are back in business….(16) The wives of the Golden Court, including my own Belinay, had stayed in the Golden Court since the failed coup. An embassy of Annoush, Dessa, Kyl, Lillian val’Borda, Sokhatani and Sutani traveled with your author to investigate if the women were being held against their will or somehow ensorcelled or drugged. No signs of anything out of the ordinary could be found. However Matias Spirit Mount appeared and sent the wives home. As of this writing the women of the Golden Court are back with their husbands. My gratitude and thanks to all members of that embassy.

As a side note, a few people have asked me if there was an exorcism performed at Litera Scripta Manet. At this time all I will say is that the store is NOT haunted. To the very best of my knowledge, no one is or was possessed. Haakon val Ishi, a Beltinian Exorcist, did join me with a group of friends for diner just after Calemnon’s first Court. I would suggest people save their questions till an opportunity comes for them to speak directly with Haakon.

I remain your Humble Scribe,

Tukufu, Ambassador of Altheria

_________________Eric Gorman

AKA Ambassador Tukufu, man of letters, tomb raider and Master Sword Sage. . . and Sir Szymon val'Holryn, Order of the PhoenixFormerly Sir Jaeger val'Holryn. Weilder of the Holy Avenger: Thonanos. Gave his soul to help free King Noen

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